I have finished mine. I will be modifying it later , so I can keep the system mostly intact, all the time. I can't raise mine until Saturday when I can move the boat, too many electric wires around my house. I will post pictures then. I also have a cover idea that I think will be MUCH better that the Hobie cover and will post that as well.

I set up mine a couple of weeks
ago and raised the mast, everything
worked out fine, had to retension mast
bridle half way through and pole bridle
was a little slack, maybe I'll try to tighten
those lines, adjust knots. the shock cord
that holds pole to mast was too long, but just
added some line and went around mast again
and got it tight, this seemed important to do.
I got different, bigger, cotter rings, that helped.
a little slower but much nicer on the back, doug

Put mine up this morning. It was a little fussy, but once everything was lined up it worked great. Doug is right about the shock cord being too long. I took pictures of it and pictures of my new cover idea. I am having trouble posting them, but if you e-mail me I will send them to who ever wants them.
No worries Paul
pejnielsen@comcast.net

Here are a couple of thoughts on the ring and pins. They are definitely more secure, so if you can learn to work with them they would be better. They don't require special tools either. The small rings are stiff, so perhaps just a small blade driver or fingernail file to open may make them easier.

Pry open with your thumbnail. Place the nail in the ring within 1/8-1/4 inch of the end to pry open. push your thumb and forefinger in opposite directions to pry open. Slip onto the clevis pin and spin on.

Pry open with the clevis pin. Use the pin to wedge the ring open.

Pry open with a small tool.

There is a tool that holds them open for installation. I think fishing shops may have the tool. Someone told me they use them on fishing gear.

Thanks Matt,
I went with the eyeglass screwdriver and a pocket full of replacements. Another helpful hint when installing this has to do with the winch. You should only use as much line as you need, say 15 ft. Anymore and the pressure put on the line can cause spooling problems. Also take you time and load the spool carefully, it will operate much smoother.

My stepper worked OK, after paying very close attention to the instructions -- it took two tries, and had to re-drill the holes where the mast plate fit with the leverage pole. The assembly-welder got a little aggressive with his bead. so, I do recommend it with those cautions.

_________________Experienced monohull sailer, new to Hobies. I chose a Getaway to get started. Sailing in Northern Calif.

Been fitting the stepper to a boat other than the Getaway. Several questions for those who have some experience, please.

After lifting the mast about five feet off the rear crossbar, I stopped and let it hang. (The winch locks so it will.)

To test how the bridles (the stepper bridles going between the slug and the ends of the front crossbar) did their job, I pushed the mast (while it was hanging) toward the sides of the boat. To see how much play I had.

I was a little surprised by the amount of side-to side sway in the mast at this point. I know it is not a rigid system.

Anyone gotten a lot of sway, especially on a windy day; or had to re-tighten or re-configure?

You will get some sideways movement due to the shallow angle of the bridles. They have very little leverage to hold the mast straight. This is worse when the mast is at a low angle on a boat with an arched crossbar... right where you tested it. You might consider over tensioning the windward side in a cross wind.

I got my mast stepper III but I'm not sure about the first step in the instructions. It says "Install the loop tangs in the forward crossbar castings. 4 Threaded holes are present in the end casting." Mine (2004 model) only has indents which look to be in the right place. I started to drill out the lower/forward indent, but it hasn't broken through easily or quickly and I'm worried that mine might be different? Any ideas? Am I doing/drilling the right thing? Grateful for any advice!Thanks in advance,Greg